What a King Needs
by Novafiction
Summary: On his journey to the new world, Luffy begins to think about his dream of becoming the Pirate King. He thinks about what a King would need. Some Language, OOC.
1. Chapter 1

**A/n:** This is something I've been recently thinking about, due to the recent chapters. I know a few of you have as well. So, here goes nothing.

**Summary:** On his journey to the new world, Luffy begins to really think about his dream, the Title of King of all Pirates. There are requirements to be a King. He has a Ship, a Crew, and the Strength. But what else does he need? Language, OOC. Same backgroung only up to Impel Down.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. No money is made. So no lawyers please.

xXx-----------------------------------------------------------xXx

xXx-----**What a King Needs**------xXx

xXx-------------------------------------------------------------------xXx

"_Most sad stories have sad beginnings. The saddest have happy ones."_

Outside the cabin, the skies were dark, filled thunderous clouds, violent and loud. The seas rose to staggering heights, smashing into one another, like massive giants fighting for complete dominance. Rain, the size of a human fist, fell from above like missiles, creating large patterns in the waves. In the distance, a cyclone came to life, feeding its vicious cylindrical form into the water. Its howl, piercing through the chaos. A typical scene on the Grandline.

Inside that cabin, was the extreme opposite.

A wide variety of the most mouth watering food one has ever seen sat atop a large wooden table. From large chunks of venison meat to small delicate rolls of sushi. Exotic fruits taken from tropical islands. And only the greenest of veggies, plucked and fashioned to perfection. It was, at the most, a great feast, for the eyes and the pallet.

Fresh steam filled the room which the table sat, creating a light atmosphere. Multicolor florescent lamps hung from all corners, splashing color onto the dark wooden walls. At the back, a huge framed picture of gigantic shark fighting an equally large octopus. Opposite of that was wall was a cut off to a pool sized aquarium showing an actual shark and octopus fighting… But, all that didn't compare to the giant disco ball, slowly spinning above the large table, making shadows of different fish shapes…

Then there were the people that sat around the table. They rightly suited the… uniqueness of the cabin quiet well; maybe with a little more bizarre. They were the current members of the StrawHat Crew. The infamous pirates were talking, laughing, any doing random things amongst each other, without a single care, as if they were just normal people among their friends. They had, of course, no reason for this joyful merriment, except just to take pleasure in the joyful merriment.

They were just happy. To be alive. To be part of this crew. And soon to be one step closer to reaching their dreams.

xXx

This night was like any normal night. The sun had set about an hour ago; he entire crew sat around the table, except for the one cooking at the stove. They had just finished or put away whatever task they had been individually doing. Some more tired than others. So now, with everyone gathered, was the time to relax before heading to sleep. Just… Relaxing sometimes meant partying and eating to the Strawhats.

"Oi! Cook, get me some ice cream." Zoro, the green haired swordsman, shouted from his place at the table. An unsual request from the man, but what he really wanted to do was to rile the blonde.

Not queuing on his intentions, a small figure hopped onto a boosted seat pillow. "Oooooo! I haven't had ice cream in a long time!" said chopper, the crew's plump little reindeer, and doctor. He bounced excitedly, "Sanji! I want one too!!!

"Me too!! Make mine chocolate!!" Added Usopp, the long nosed sniper in the group. He had just finished a tray of fishsticks, which was topped off with his homemade fire hot sauce. So he was itching for something to cool burning tongue. "And make it super cold!"

Another sitting at the table, bulky with neon blue hair, sat up and posed with his arms, "Orraaa! Sanji. I want one too! But make it a soda float!" said Franky, the crew's shipwright. The sight up his speedos making a few eyes twitch in annoyance. "Sit down cyborg…"

Sanji, the ship's cook, turned to them and shouted. "BAKAS!!! We're in the middle of the damn ocean! Where in the blazing hell am I going to get ice cream?!" In one hand he a frying pan, and in the other was a bottle of champagne. He poured some into the pan and lit up the alcohol under the gas flames.

Ussop pointed a crooked finger at him and retorted, "You're the baka! You're a cook, make it yourself!"

Sanji pulled out a knife and threw it at him, "Shut Up!!! Do you know how long it takes to do that by hand?!" That said, the gears in Franky's head silently started to turn, thinking of some ice cream maker designs.

"But, you're the cook. And we want to eat ice cream." Chopper hugged Ussop and they began to cry their eyes out, "Ice CREAM!" Sanji just walked up to them wacked their head with his scalding hot frying pan. "OWE!" This left steaming golf ball sized bumps on their heads.

"Yahhta! Stupid chef, that hurt!" Chopper clung to Ussop, rubbing his head, "Ussopuu Sanji's being mean again!"

"Shut up, both of you! Go make your own." He plated his dish. Then took off his apron and lit a cigarette. "You have no idea how hard make it without an ice cream machine." He sat down next to the ship's navigator, Nami. The chief was about to start his nightly attempt at courting the female members of the crew. Of course he knew he had almost no chance in hell, but it would hurt to keep trying, right?

The orange haired woman made a thoughtful pose, taping her finger over her chin, "Hmm, I haven't had ice cream in a long time as well." She turned to the other female crew member. "How about you Robin?" she asked in a playful manner, knowing Sanji would do anything for when she acted like this.

Robin, their stunningly beautiful tomb raid….. errr archeologist, put down her fork and said, "Yes, I too miss that pleasant little treat. Ohara used to have an ice cream stand I'd visit when I had a extra few coins." She smiled, thinking about her past.

Sanji's eyebrow twitched at the opening. He pulled his hands back for a few seconds, and pull out two miniature goblets of icecream from out of nowhere. It was multilayered and had pieces of frozen fruits sticking out from around the edges.

The male members of the crew shouted, "Ehhhhhhhhhh!?!?" While Robin and Nami looked on in delighted.

Sanji exaggeratedly placed the goblets in front of the two women. "Ice Cream for the lovely ladies." Particles twinkling around them. It was as if the clear glass was emitting a small glow.

"Ahh this looks delicious Sanji." Nami lifted a spoonful into her mouth.

"Where's mine?!?!?"

Robin also tasted it, "Mnn Sanji, strawberries, my favorite, Thank you." She licked her lips, and smiled.

"I want one too!!!!! That's not fair! Give me some of that Nami!!!"

"Anything for you two. I'll make anything you ask for." Sanji bows, ignoring the pleas of the rest of the crew and using his boot to hold off a pissed off Ussop.

"Make me one too, please!"

He quickly turned around kicked goggle head in the face. "Shut up!"

"AHHHH! Sanji! You bastard!! That hurt!" Ussop grabbed his now crooked nose and tried to bend it back to place.

"Sanji! Make us ice cream too! Please!!" Chopper begged, "Everyone else want some too! Right Everyone?!"

"AYE!" Everyone else agreed.

Brooks, the musician in this merry group, also stood up, "Aye, I would like something to cool my tongue… But… I am a skeleton! I have no tongue! Yohohohohohohohohoho!" The crackling skeleton didn't notice the limbs that sprouted from the wall he had been sitting in front of.

Ussop palmed his face, "SHUT UP BROOKS!.... wait.. Behind y-"

"YOHOHOHOHOHOHO- eeeeekkkkk!! Robin! My head doesn't twist that way! Sto.." -Crack- "EEEyyaaa….."

"Go Robin-chwaannn!" Sanji cheered.

Everyone else tried to help Brooks, trying to pry Robin's 'extra' hands from the skeleton's head.

xXx

Zoro, who twitched at the scene and slammed his beer mug onto the table, making everyone stop. "Silence! Well just stop at the next Island if you want it so badly. We need to stock up on supplies anyway, Right Captain?" he said, turning to look at the person who sat at the head of the table.

But the person didn't respond like Zoro thought he would. "Luffy?"

The rest of the crew also turned to the figure at the end. Everyone was suddenly wondering the same thing. Why wasn't their captain joining in their merriment tonight? 'He's usually the loudest amongst us…' Nico Robin thought. Yet, all he's doing is just sitting there.

There was no reason for him to just sit there and stare at the ceiling. He obviously wasn't sleeping. Luffy had on his usual clothes, plus the hat. He looked healthy, no cold or wounds. Only clue was the untouched food in front of him. Which worried the crew very much.

Robin leaned forward a little, a frown on her face. "Captain-San?" She ventured. No response. "Luffy-san is everything alright?" Still nothing… Could he hear her? Was he ignoring them? This didn't feel right at all. Something was up.

The second person to voice her worries was Nami, the second crew member to have been with Luffy the longest. "Luffy? You ok?" This wasn't like him she thought. "Oi. Luffy…"

The captain shook his head lightly, stopped staring at the ceiling and looked at his confused crew. "What? Whats wrong?" His faced had a blank look, making him unaware of the crew's concern.

Brooks, who had already fixed his head, spoke up. "Luffy-san, you're awfully quiet today. It's worrying us." He waved his hand over everyone.

"Yeah, Luffy! Are you sick? Want me to check you?" chirped chopper.

Luffy tilted his head, "No, no, I'm not sick. I'm just thinking, that's all." He crested his eyes and gave them a reassuring smile. But… it wasn't a one of his usually shit-eatin grins, and when peeked an eye, he saw them with grave looking faces. For some reason this irritated the rubber man. "Che… I_ do_ think sometimes you know….."

Franky was the first to speak, his tone serious "Well, what were you thinking about Strawhat? Its gotta be really important to make you act like this." The rest of the crew murmered their agreements. The feeling of uneasiness slowly growing each second their Captain acted out of character.

Luffy sighed, "Well, theres no hiding anything from you guys, huh?" He took off his hat and scratched his head. "Well, ya'll already know, we'll soon be heading to the new world." The crew nodded slowly. "Ever since I started this journey, I've been trying my hardest with filling that slots that would make a complete crew. That is why you are all here."

They nodded again, becoming more uncomfortable. Usually, when he talked about his goals, he would say them proudly and as loud as he could. Yet…

Luffy continued, "There are still many slots that I need to fill. I need to recruit even more people to join us on our adventure. I even plan to have more than one ship…" The crew thought about his words and the possible expansion of the crew.

"But, while thinking of the different roles I need to fill. I thought of something I've never considered." He bowed his head, casting a shadow over his face."You all know about my number one dream is, right? To become the King of Pirates." The crew replied accordingly. Of course they knew this. He had shouted it at every major enemy they'd fought.

"We'll I've been a lot of thinking about it… and here what my thoughts ran in to." he leaned back against the wall. "The assumption is that being King will give you 'Ultimate freedom. But really, it's going to be a very demanding job. I will be the most wanted man in the world, next top my Pop.... And the only solution that I could think of to solve that problem was to eradicate the World Government all together." He shrugged.

Everyone was dead silent. No one let out a single breath as they tried to process what their captain had just said. 'What…The World Government... '

Luffy waved away their stray thoughts. "But I'll talk more about that if when we get closer to the matter." He leaned back against the wall behind him. "What really got me thinking was the other things a pirate king needed, and how lonely it was going to be."

Chopper jumped up, "What are you talking about Luffy? You'll never be alone!" He waved his paw over the rest of the crew and said, "We'll be with you, whether or not your king!"

"The tanuki is right Luffy. What about your crew! Us! We'll be with you!" Franky said.

Ussop stood up and pointed at himself, "Yeah! Luffy! You got me!"

"We won't leave you Luffy, if that is what you are worrying about." Nami assured him. "Y-you didn't abandon me back then, so I won't do the same."

Brooks took off his hat and proclaimed "And I, Sir Captain, am with you forever, till death do us part! Yohohohohoho."

Zoro stayed quiet, as well as Robin. But, her hand shook softly as she held the glass of ice cream. She seemed to have noticed this, and put down the glass, folding her hands over each other on her lap. It still shook.

Luffy raised his hand and they quieted. "Yes, yes, I know that. But what I'm talking about is something else." His crew noticed his lips had curved into another smile. A near dismal smile this time. "What do all kings need?" he asked in a melancholic voice.

The question roused them.

"Gold?"

"Power?"

"Food?"

"Soldiers?"

"Bones?"

The ones who did not answer were Zoro and Robin. The proclaimed assassin continued to shake slightly, her face turned away from him. Zoro, who's face now looked stunned, knew exactly what his Captain was talking about. It was as clear as day to the swordsman.

"Nope." Luffy lifted his head, and looked at his beloved crew. "What a king needs, is a…"

"Queen.." Zoro and Robin finished for him. The archeologist's voice, almost a ghost of a whisper.

The entire crew went silent for a second time that night. Those who were standing up, promptly fell into their seats. They all stared at their captain, leader and friend, unable to form words or even a single coherent thought. Sanji's ciggerente fell out of his mouth. Chopper feinted. Franky exaggerated a surprised pose. Ussop's nose sagged. And Nami looked as if she was having a heart attack.

For a second, Luffy looked annoyed at their reactions, but continued on, "That's right… I need a Queen." He looked back up at the ceiling. "I'm serious about this, starting now, while we continue on to the new world, I'll also be looking out for _my_ Queen."

He chuckled. "My Queen-to-be of course"

**XxX-------------------------------XxX**

One week later, the Strawhats suffered a Complete defeat by the paw of **B**artholomew Kuma.

**xXx------------------------------------------------xXx**

**A/n: **Ok, heres the deal, when I first wrote this fic last year, it was intended to be a one shot. A really crappy one that I wrote in an hour with no intention of fixing up. That's it. Just something I thought about when I read the Amazon island chapters. But now, I'm almost done with the fourth and going back to revamp the earlier chapters. I'm still not sure about the future of this fic or even what the pairings will be.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/n: **So, **last chapter**, Luffy had announced his to his crew his desire to find a suitable queen. Well, a significant amount of time has passed since then and now on the verge of another war, he must decide which course to set.

'_The shock of Death and War can change someone. For better or for worse, depends on the person's Will.'_

XxX-------------**Present Day: One Year after Impel Down**-------------XxX

Luffy was beside himself as he gazed out into the vast blue ocean. It was near sundown, and the light was slowly fading from the sky. The few clouds that scattered the vast expanse turned orange, as the sun began to dip below the horizon. He closed his eyes and tilted his head upwards, breathing in the cool ocean air. "It's been so long." He whispered.

His thoughts drifted to past, memories of what had happened over the past year.

He thought back to the beginning, during the events that followed the Shabaody Archipelago incident, when his entire crew was separated from him, and each other. Then the meeting with women of Amazon island and their queen, the former member of the Shichibukai, Boa Hancock. The second woman to have ever changed him. The first being his Nee-san from his home town.

Luffy's heart ached a little to those memories. So he unbuttoned the front of his coat and vest, hoping for the cold to bite. "Heh… For a while… I really thought she'd be the one…" Luffy smiled, picturing the beautiful face of his 3rd Division Fleet Commander. Truly a one of a kind Woman.

During the War between the White Beard Pirates and the World Government, she had been one of the deciding factors for Luffy's adjunct faction, rallying a surprise attack with her Amazon warriors during the last hour of the battle, providing an escape as Blackbeard and the Admirals clashed. She, and her small army were also the ones that covered Luffy's retreat, holding off the government battleships. With hundreds of arrows , spears, and muskets shielding them, Luffy, Buggy, and rest of the Pirates of Impel down secured getaway ships.

"So many would have died if wasn't for her…" He felt a ghost of her body molding against his. "and shit… I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her as well." She had also been the first to 'comfort' him in the wake of Ace's death, restoring his shattered mind after the shock… He shook his heating head of those memories. 'No. I can't let myself think of him anymore. Or… ever her in fact. She's too dangerous to be in my thoughts.'

Yet she was still there. After regrouping at the Archipelago, it was her, with the help of former shichibukai Jinbei, that convinced the remaining of the Eleven Supernovas to ally with Luffy. It was truly unbelievable for a top rookie captain to ally himself to another, but it was all eleven! And it was all her idea.

She had said, while lying next to him, the night after the negotiations. 'No one knows it yet, Luffy. But tonight is the night is the starting point of your ascension.' Of course, his freshly rebuilt mind couldn't fully comprehend it at the time. But now... almost everyone does.

He sighed and jumped off Merry Go's main mast, landing on the deck. He walked toward the side rails, feeling a cool breeze brush against him. The dark cloak he wore, bearing his Jolly Roger, billowed behind him.

Boa had whole heartedly been his catalyst. But… she wouldn't be his queen… or even at the least... his bride.

He had know since leaving Amazon Island for the first time, that the Snake Princess had tremendous crush on. Had he not been occupied with Ace's impending execution and his lost nakama, he would have acted apon it, whole heartedly. Who, wouldn't? She was everything he had been looking for in a queen. If Luffy had acknowledge Boa's love right then, she might have accepted his hand in marriage, binding themselves to one another, for eternity.

Yet... 'It's too late now...' She had said tearfully a couple months after the war, 'I will always give you my love Luffy, when ever you need it. Because, you will forever own my heart. This I swear. But… I simply... can not… be your queen.' Those echoing words were leading to even darker memories, something he simply refused to revisit at this time.

In summary though, Boa never told him the reason why she wouldn't marry him, but only smiled sadly whenever he asked.

His mind moved back to earlier, more violent memories, the month following the regrouping at the Archipelago was hard on Luffy and his shaky alliance. I didn't take long for the Government receive wind of their location and send out top ranking Marines to break it apart. At that point the alliance was consisted of the Nine ships that belonged to the supernova rookies, three marine ships that was held by Buggy, Ivankov, Crocodile, and the other prisoners from Impel Down. And thirteen more ships that belonged to Boa and the Amazon warriors.

That cluster of ships was completely unable to hold against wave after wave of the disciplined Marine fleets. The rookies and prisoner were unorganized and untrained for massive fleet battles, being used to fighting by themselves. They were constantly arguing with one another, forcing Jinbei and Boa to crack-whips multiple times. The marines used this weakness to their advantage, and after three weeks of battle, finally surrounded the Alliance in the Archipelago's bay.

xXx-------**Flash Back**: One Month after the Whitebeard war.-------xXx

Seated around a massive round table were the Captains and Major Players of the Early Alliance. They were aboard the Sunny Go, five hours before daybreak.

Capone Bege, Captain of the Fire Tank Pirates, slammed his fist in the table. "Over One hundred Marine Battleships, three Vice-Admirals, and Aokiji himself threaten our extinction! We need to escape into the Archpelago!" The cigar in his mouth, almost gone after many hours of arguing.

The woman with pink hair that sat across him, made a shrewd face. "Screw that! I ain't leaving precious Jewel to those damn Marines!" said Jewelry Bonney, Captain of the Bonney Pirates.

Capone shot back, "_Child,_ ships can be remade! Our lives can't! We need to retreat!"

"Are you a coward _Old _man?!" Eustass Kid, Captain of the Kid Pirates, raised a fist. "I still say we fight them head on and we'll become even more famous! Our names will echo all throughout the Grandline!"

Crocodile, also a former shichibukai, sneered in disgust. "Rookies.. cha!" He spat. "I would rather have my life than glory." Mr. 1 and Mr. 2, aka Bon, and Mr. 3 stood behind his chair, their faces revealing no emotions.

"And I would rather have death then be labeled as a coward who ran from some low life marines!" Standing behind the red head, his crew mate and also Rookie supernova, Killer, nodded in agreement.

Others around the table nodded their heads in agreement. Scratchmen Apoo, Captain of the On Air Pirates, Urouge, Captain of the Fallen Monk Pirates, and Basil Hawkins, Captain of the Hawkins Pirates agreed to the attack. Hawkins said, "As much as I detest violence, my crew and I _will _fight if we have to defend our honor."

X. Drake, former Marine Rear Admiral and Captain of the Drake Pirates spoke up for the first time since the counsel began. "Those 'Low Lifes' as you called them are some of the World Government's most elite Fleets. The same fleets that held off thousands of pirates before you from passing the Redline." He tipped his Navy blue hat and said, "Also… Admiral Aokiji… is on whole other level by himself. I don't know why they sent him… _and_ a group of Vice-Admirals." He looked around at all the different faces around the table and said, "They must really want us dead, because throughout my entire time in the Marines, I have never heard of such a force being ordered to the earlier half of the Grandline."

Everyone around the table took a second to digest the information just given to them. The Marine fleets they had been fighting the past month were weak, but after such a long time of constant fighting, the Alliance was terribly weakened. Almost everyone at the table was sporting some sort of injury. Many of the Captains and fleet leaders had also lost crew members at some point. Their ships were battered and were in need of continuous repair.

But the fleet that surrounded them now was unholy in strength, and simply dwarfed the Marines of the Early Grandline. Battleships were incomparable to the Warships that belonged to the vice-Admirals' personal fleets. Then there was that floating monster of a Ship that held Aokiji, nearly the size of the small island.

This wasn't going to be just another battle.

Through the silence, Luffy, who had been watching the discussion the whole time, bent forward slightly and leaned his head onto closed knuckles, his hat shadowing his face. Using a serious tone, he said, "We are going to retreat."

The entire room burst into exclamation as everyone was trying to get their voice heard.

"What!? Like fuck we are!" "Have you lost your mind Strawhat!?" "You can't do this!!" "There is no way I'm leaving my ship" "Yes we need to retreat" "The marines will kill us!" "The world will know my name, damnit!" And other obscenities were thrown all over the table.

--------------

Jinbei, sitting to Luffy's left, sighed while looking at the mess of people in front of him. He glanced down at the Strawhat and wondered what it was about that made him respect the kid so much. He could easily escape into the sea, be miles away by sundown. Heck, he could have done that anytime this during this forsaken month. But, he didn't. He stayed and fought with this strange rubber man.

'Could it be his strength?' He remember Strawhat leading the charge to Ace during the execution, fighting his way through some of the most feared names in Government. Then afterwards, it was always him that lead the counter attacks, fighting through all the battles, never holding back to recover. The boy was powereful, frighteningly powerful, but… so were many other pirates on the Grandline. 'No… it's not only his power.'

'Maybe his charisma…' Jinbei glanced at Crocodile, then at the person sitting to Luffy's Right, Boa Hancock. 'He somehow managed to get these two monsters to fight with him… and I remember the reason why Croc was thrown out of the Shichibukai was because the boy had defeated him.' He rubbed his head. 'But it still doesn't explain why he's fighting alongside him.'

Jinbei paused when he heard Luffy growl softly in irritation, and unknowing he grew irritated himself. 'He's not done talking!' The fishman was about to blast his killing intent and shout at the fools to shut up. But, he stopped.

He felt someone else's aura. Unlike that blast he was about to do, this intent was a lot more subtle… yet sharper then his own. He looked around the room and saw no sign of the Aura from them, and that no one else had noticed it. So he looked down at Strawhat again, and concentrated, and found that the intent was coming from him! It wasn't radiating, or pulsing like most people, instead, it was slowly seeping from the boy's body, growing quietly.

Jinbei started to sweat as felt the aura begin to wrap around him, and after a few seconds it had quickly grown large enough to engulf him. If felt horrible, instead of the making you feel like you couldn't breathe, it made him feel like someone had sliced his throat, that death was quickly coming.

'What is this? Is this Haki!? This isn't right… this isn't how Haki should work!' He looked over at Hancock and saw that it was starting to affect her as well. She had brought a hand to her throat and started squirm a little in her chair. Her eyes darted back and forth to Luffy, as if doubting whether or not the Aura was really coming from him.

Jinbei didn't blame her, he hadn't felt an Aura this strong since meeting with Gol. D Roger … A memory hit him so fast he lost his breath. _"The Will of D" _Words he heard long ago. 'Is this it!? Is this The Will of D?' But, before thought of anything, Boa's ragged voice whispered to him.

"Jinbei… do. not. ask. him… He does not know…" She looked disturbed, but she still managed to look him in the eye. "He does not need to know."

He nodded and sat back into his seat, trying to fight off the Luffy's Will. It if it was still growing, it should've blanketed the whole room by now. He peeked open an eye and saw that he was right. Everyone had shut up and was trying there damn hardest to fight off the Aura. At least the stronger ones were, the rest feinted.

"S-s-traawww…. H-h-haatt.. W-what di-di-did yo-you d-do!?" Crocodile got out; his hand griping his throught, the cigar he always smoked had fallen onto the table.

Buggy and Mr. 2 laid and the floor next to each other, their mouth gurgling foam. Emporio Ivankov was in his female form, slaping Inazuma's face back and forth, trying to wake the scissor man. The supernovas were struggling just as crocodile.

The only ones that didn't seem affected by all this was Hatchan, who for some only god know reason was on the floor, pretending to have feinted. Him and Keimi joined with Luffy for the fun of it, and this whole month was anything but fun. Yet, the two stayed… He shook the thought for later and turned his head.

The other not affected was the cloaked old man in the corner. But, Jinbei wasn't surprised by that in the slightest. The man hadn't said anything since he boarded the ships, not did Luffy give any indication to who the man was. But Jinbei knew, he had seen the old man fighting and that he had been holding back. A lot.

Why the fuck was the 'Dark King' here?

-----

Monkey D. Luffy growled at the assembled pirates around the table. **"Are you going to stop arguing now?" **Everyone, who hadn't feinted, decided that they wanted to breathe again and motioned that they'd stop. Many of them were beginning to lose consciousness, or had started to slump lower and lower into their chair.

Under his hat, Luffy smiled. "Good."

All of sudden the frightening aura disappeared, as fast as a snap from two fingers. With the invisible noose gone from their necks, everyone inhaled sharply, trying to regain their breath. The ones who were on the ground began to wake up and slowly pick themselves up. Everyone seemed tense as they tried to get themselves from their disheveled state. The first to speak was Buggy, captain of the Buggy Pirates, "What the hell was that?" He still seemed shaky.

Luffy ignored the question and continued, "Like I said, we need to retreat." Some of Captains opened their mouths to speak, but at the last second, thought against it. "As we are right now, we can't take the Government head on like Whitebeard did." The ones that were present during the war nodded their heads grimly. The battles were a whole nother level compared to the skirmishes they've been fighting. "We need to get stronger; individually and as an alliance."

He raised his head, and looked around the cabin, "Also, I really like my ship. I don't want to lost sunny. So, we will take _all_ our ships and retreat by going past the Marines! No one will get killed, and the ships will be unharmed."

His audience just stared at him till Crocodile grunted, "And how do you suppose we do that Strawhat?" He dragged his golden hook across the table. "How does twenty-five ships and some of the world's most wanted Pirates simply pass a Navy Fleet and an Admiral. Unharmed?"

"Don't worry I have a plan to keep us all safe."

Crocodile stood up and shouted, "Impossible! There is no way we'll all be able to escape in the morning. Hell! I doubt any of us will even survive!" He looked at the ones that were also former convicts. "There's no returning to Impel Down for us. The government has already passed judgment, and they've sent executioners."

"Croco-

"They. Will. Kill. Us."

Luffy shot up and growled at the sandman,** "Shut Up!" **His fist clenched, he stared at the mark, long gone, on his wrist. "_No one is going to die. No one will be left behind. No one will disappear. I promise you that._" He practically hissed the last sentence through his gritted teeth.

He promptly fell back onto his seat, still staring at the nonexistent mark. He motioned his other hand to Jinbei; the fishman nodded and stood up, "Sit your ass down boy." He sent a threatening look toward Crocodile, who grudgingly yielded.

"So here's what we came up with…"

xXx----------------------------xXx

**A/n: **Even if you don't read the weekly chapters. Most of the names here shouldn't be foreign to you. I would look up 'One Piece Wikia' on google. Most of the information is from that site. A lot of things in the One Piece universe has more than one name, many made during the translations or fan theories.

Also, yes. The story might be different from what the first chapter perceived. Also, there **is **a lot of undertoned meaningsin my writings. **Example. **Yes, Boa offered to have sex with him whenever he wanted.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/n:** Wow. An Update a couple months after the last one. Extraordinary! Yea will look at how short this damn chapter is. I was unsure whether to wait till I had at least solid plot planned out lol. But nah. This one is for fun for fun. Not just for fun.

**Important:** If you are still confused, the fic is going back inforth in the time line. **Present:** One year after Impeldown/Whitebeard War. **Flashbacks:** One month after Impeldown/ WB War, Nakama is still lost.

Also, you'll start to notice the mood change, and that's how I want it to feel. This is the Luffy I wanted to portray.

**xXx**

_The one thing Monkey D. Luffy regretted was not being fast enough to grab her hand. At least then… one of them would be here to support him. _

**XxX--------------Present--------------XxX**

Luffy turned away from Sunny Go's rails to look at the tall Orange trees that had been brought to enjoy the rare peaceful weather. The sea was being kind to him and his fleet, at least… for now. He unconsciously dug this bear feet into the deck's grassy lawn, feeling the evening dew which had started to collect. The night was cooler than normal, but not too cold to bite into his bear skin.

Breathing in the ocean air again, he watched the leaves sway under a gentle breeze. His straw hat shifted a little, and he brought up a hand to reposition it.

Ace's death had clouded his judgment back then. 'The plan had been near suicidal. But apparently, no one else had been close to clear minded as to seriously oppose it. Or, those that were level headed enough to realize the danger, were ready to die anyway. That was how desperate the state the fleet had been in. The fatigue of constant fighting and the threat of utter destruction had chipped at their senses. And without the ability to think of another option, everyone agreed to the plan with little hesitation.' He winced a little. 'It was almost as if I had blindly signed off their lives.'

And it almost was, had not been for their ridiculous strength and determination to live; which made up the balance perfectly.

**xXx-------Continuing the Flash Back-------xXx**

Responding to the eminent threat, Luffy had called the major players of his alliance to explain the plan of action to save their asses. But the problem was that the shit he'd made Jinbei spew from his mouth was as life threatening as the Marines...

Ex-Shichibukai Jinbei stood looking over the slackjawed mass of pirates infront of him. He had just laid out the bulk of Strawhat's plan to escape from their dire situation. An accumulation of over a hundred battleships, warships, top ranking galleons, and a monstrous Ship of the Line had surrounded the pirate alliance into one of the Sabaody archipelago bays, trapping them in like caged rats.

He, himself, still could not believe he was staying with the rookie pirates. '…They look hopeless…' He watched as Bonbon and Mr.3 hug each other and make a fountain of tears. 'If it wasn't for Whitebeards request and my debt to Luffy, I would've been long gone…'

'_Watch over the next Generation' _Was his last words to Jinbei.

The giant Fishman sighed. 'Only if Strawhat had agreed to leave with him.'

"Look, this is our only chance of escaping with your 'precious' ships. Because, had you all not been as attached to them, Like Miss Boa here, we would have just opted out on escaping into archipelago and escaping from the other side. And we cannot risk dividing up due to the blockade; we need everyone one way or the other." He put his hand on Luffy shoulder.

"Strawhat and I has gone over it for many hours , though most of the plan is his idea, I fully stand behind it. We need everyone's full cooperation, any one that decides not wish to abide by it; you are fully welcomed to leave. But I encourage you not to because you _will_ die tomorrow." He gave the shoulder a squeeze, signaling the boy's turn to speak.

xXx

Luffy leaned back into his chair from his position of resting his chin on both sets of knuckles. For the past few minutes, he'd been silently watching the reactions of the individuals that sat before him as Jinbei spoke. They were all Pirates, not soldiers. They were not used to taking orders, nor were they used to fighting in the way they had. It wouldn't have surprised him to see a couple of them just up and leave before the Fishman finished speaking. Yet none did. This was what he hoped for. 'Everyone has to work together for everyone to live.'

The rubber man regarded the group in a tired manner. "At least none of you left yet." He saw Eustass about to give a retort, but continued before the walking magnet could give one. "Good, because Jinbei is right, because the plan calls for all or nothing. And the nothing means we all die."

"I'll summarize it again, hopefully the stupid looks on your faces are gone now, and point out a few things he didn't mention. Also, this is an easier version to understand." He gave a cruel grin and pointed at the crudely drawn map that was laid out on the table. It was the bay, with small paper boats, courtesy of Inazuma, depicting their and the marine ships. It was an almost accurate representation, to the point where size and shape of the ships were proportioned to the size of the bay. Needless to say, the map was fairly large.

"As you all know, we are completely trapped into the bay with the marine ships blocking our only way out into the sea. There is only one opening. But it is a pretty large opening. This is probably why so many marine ships were called in."

He then waved over the marine ship. "To completely cover the opening, they broke their usual formation and panned out all their ships. This way they accomplish two things. One, to break our moral and unstill doom into our minds. Two, to destroy all thoughts of escaping by sea." He emphasized the how thinned out the marine ships were. "This is their mistake, or unless they knew about it, the risk they took, hoping we'd be too panic-ridden to notice."

He paused to make sure everyone understood the weakness, "So this is the fact that the entire plan was based upon. A long wall a ship, that _may _be easily broken."

Luffy rearranged the paper boats that represented the alliance fleet until he was satisfied. He had made an ordinary triangle from them. "To put it simply, we will escape by forming a wedge and hammering our way out to freedom.

The room was still in shock. Even after hearing the plan the second time, the simplicity and shear outrageousness of it still made their jaws drop. Yet, no one seemed to oppose as the boy continued talking.

"This is how I want the formation to go." He pointed out the ships that made of the front two sides of the wedge. "Because Hancock (she blushed a little) has noted that she doesn't care whether or not her ships make it out of here, they will make up the Outer V."

The snake Princess announced to the mass, "Twelve of my ships' original purpose was only for mass transportation and cargo, so they are much bulkier than any of your ships. This is also why we decided to put them on the outside, to absorb most of the damage the marines throw at us."

Luffy continued, "But that does not mean, we'll only be using them as shields. Since their decks are massive, that is where most of you and your crews will be positioned, alongside the Amazon army."

"Then who'll be protecting _our_ ships?!" Cried out Bonney, finally breaking the silence among Luffy's audience.

"That's why I want all of you on the outside, repelling most if not all of the enemy's attack. Put only a couple of your crew on your ships to keep it sailing in the formation, and have everyone else with you. That way, we are all protecting our ships together." His face turned grim, "So it would be wise to do your best to keep Hancock's ships floating, because they are the ones between your ships, and the marine cannons."

"Also, speaking of cannons, I want all of your crew members that aren't going to be controlling your ships, and aren't strong enough to block cannon balls to be assigned to Buggy."

"EHHHhhhhh!?!" The red nosed man shouted in pure horror. Then started to sweat bullets, as all the other captains eyed him, doubting whether or not stawhat had gone insane, having them entrust their crews onto the weak pirate.

Seeing their doubts, he further explained, "Buggy, will be in charge of all the preparation and firing of our own cannons. The weaker half of impel down inmates and parts of your crews will be returning fire. But, I don't want any old random shots at the enemy ships," he said, exasperatedly. "I want the cannons timed and aimed at the enemies' masts. I want to disable their ships. Or, even their sails, just to slow them down. Remember, we are escaping, not really fighting them head on."

The Capone, seeing the opportunity to add his voice, "Mr. Strawhat, seeing as how there is no other way to sway your decision, allow me and my men to assist Mr. Nose. I've noticed many of your ships are… ill equipped with cannons. My ship doubling the number of the second most equipped ship in our improvised fleet." He looked over the other captains, some of them sour with his insult, and said, "With your permissions, allow me and my crew to build the cannons needed for this operation."

Luffy looked surprised and doubly concerned, "That would help a lot Bege. But, this is a lot of cannons we are talking about. And there isn't much time before dawn."

"Do not worry about my crew's ability to create cannons Mr. Strawhat. Though, I do understand your concern about time. Normally, the sheer size of this order would take many days for my crew to gather the resources alone. But with the abundance of manual labor available within the Alliance, and with some assistance from Mr. Kid, I can guarantee a couple dozen high quality cannons in only a few hours."

Luffy's eyes widened and Eustass turned to the man in the expensive suit, "What do ya need me for huh? I don't know anything bout them stinking cannons."

"I'm well aware of that Mr. Kid, seeing as how you have the least amount of cannons amongst us. Oh, I would love to lecture you of the importance of a well equipped ship. But that is for another time. I have another use… I mean, I ask your assistance in another way. That is, your devil fruit abilities. Cannon making requires large amounts of metal. Our stock piles are low on that resource. But we've been fighting for many weeks now, and the ocean floor around us is littered with iron scraps from sunk ships and weapons…"

The flame haired pirate probably already knew the question, but to stay polite Capone formally inquired, "Will you help us collect the scrap metals?" To keep the Pirate from flat our refusing, he added, "The more cannons we build, the better chance of all of us surviving…"

xXx

"Of course." The Kid said sarcastically. This wasn't much of a hard choice to make, but his independent nature still had him itching in irritation about being told what to do. And he didn't take kindly to the mobster/pirate.

_But_… he wasn't a complete fool; he deeply respected Strawhat, someone who was as crazy and strong as himself. Just look at the map in front of him. 'He may even be stronger…' There were times in the past weeks were he'd witness Strawhat perform feats he'd thought impossible… 'That boy had so much potential.' He groaned inwardly. 'More so than what the next Pirate King needs…'

There wasn't much he could do. Fate had thrown everything at the Strawhat. And once he has gotten enough time to straighten all his shit out, and get over his brother's death, he would come back and completely blast away everyone that gets in his way.

So, as he saw it now, he could either stand back and watch Strawhat pummel his way to the sought after title… or… he could fight alongside him, and grab as much of the left over glory as he could. He sighed. It was at that moment, Eustass Kid resigned himself from his goal for one piece, and decided to fully follow the Infamous Monkey D. Luffy.

But he would be damned if he said so, "Fine, I'll do it. It'll give me the chance to show off my power to you weaklings!" He eyed Strawhat, "And I'll also go with your crazy ass plan! Just thinking off all the noise this is going to make has gotten me shaking with excitement!"

xXx

Watching, Eustass gloat, Luffy sat back relieved with the cooperation he is receiving. He understood what the man was saying, and he also understood the silent threat he had seen in his eyes. _'Don't make me regret this decision Strawhat.'_

"Good." He continued, "Capone, try to crank out as many cannons as you can. And make sure you refer to Buggy on making a few that can handle Buggy Bombs."

The gangster looked confused, "BuggyBombs, sir?"

Luffy nodded, he looked at Buggy again and asked, "Red nose, do ya think you can still make a few of those bombs of yours? The big ones that used in the town we first met at." He got the reaction he was looking for as he watched Buggy's eye twitch.

The clown, sweating again as the attention was brought to him, "Yes… I think I can make up a few. But… I'm going to need some help. Mixing the powder takes a lot of work."

"Then get some people from your 'new' crew to help out. They practically worship you Mr. Hero." The comment brought out a few snickers, lightening the mood around the table. "You might have not yet realized it yet, but your true strength, Buggy, comes from the explosion you create. If Ussop was here, he'd be having a field day with your explosive inventions. Those bombs will play a key factor in our escape. And I'm hoping for a least a few."

A little put off with Strawhat acknowledging his inventions, Buggy the Clown simply nodded.

Next, Luffy talked about the unique aspects to his triangle formation. The needle tip point. "At the very tip of the formation will be the Sunny Go. Why? Because, One, I want most of the marine fire to concentrate on her. Two, it contains our back up, should the Buggy bombs fail."

"Why would you do that Luffy-Chan?" Ivankov asked softly, "From what I understand, you practically consider Sunny your nakama…"

"That's right. I do. That's why I want Law standing right on top of it." Luffy responded.

On the other side of the table, a bored looking Trafalgar Law suddenly perked up with interest.

xXx

"Lastly, I wall all of you to send over your navigators, cartographers, and who ever deals with your log pose. I'm sure you all very aware how dangerous this plan is. We may lose some ships and we may be separated in the escape. Both are very likely… So, the only solution I can come up with is Water 7. That will be our rallying point of our grand escape." Luffy looked over the mass of people. A few seem to recognize the name, but most looked lost.

X. Drake's head clicked, "Ah, I think I remember hearing about that Island from my informants. Yes… that was the last reported sighting of you and that old dog Garp."

The rubber man lifted an interested eyebrow, "You sound like you know my grandfather."

The ex-Marin smiled slightly, the first time anyone in the room had seen him do that, even including his blushing first-mate. "Yes we knew your grandfather Luffy-San," said the woman standing next to drake. She had torn her eyes away from her captain. "Our division had many training exercises under that command of your Grandfather. He is a very ferocious man. But also goodhearted and kind… sometimes. That is why we take these measure to keep track of him, so we don't 'accidently' run into his jaws. We like him too much, you could say. If we can avoid it, will we not fight him."

"I'm glad, I don't ever want to fight him... again." Luffy smiled back.

"Ah Luffy-san, I believe I understand what your plans are." Spoke up, Scratchmen Apo, for the first time this evening. "Water 7 is famous for having the best carpenter companies on the Grandline. Excluding the marine's personal Ironforce, certainly. But… a near 2 dozen wanted pirate ships will not be simply welcomed into their ports. Even so for business."

Luffy grinned. "Oh we don't have to worry about that. I'm friends with who you can call the town mayor. He will gladly help us."

"You sure Strawhat?" Crocodile scoffed. "When the Dj said wanted, he really did mean wanted. Or did ya forget the people surrounding you right now are the most feared criminals on this side of the grandline. We are dubed as thieves, killers, kidnappers and rapists! I don't believe anyone is willing to-"

"Blah blah" Luffy narrowed his eyes "I already know about your past Crocodile. Why are you making this harder than it should. It'll be fine, they like me over there. We just have to be willing to blow Beli for a big enough party… Anyway," this time there was a glint in the rubber man's eye, "you should be more worried about our second stop. Alabasta.

**xXx--------------Present--------------xXx**

Luffy felt a surge in the wind. The skies had become darker, reaching its apex this time of the year. Not a problem due to the thousands of freshly lit lamps over the entire armada. But the small fires didn't help against the crispy air that was starting to bite deeply into his skin. He reached around and wrapped his cloak tighter to his body. It was definitely chilly now, and add that to his chaotic memories, all of which were not helping his increasingly sour mood. 'Damn the cold…'

He thought of going to his cabin to start a fire, a _big_ fire, and head on into sleep, but another option to find warmth wormed into his mind. His scowl turned into a frown, "It has been a few days… I've been busy with the captains with all the damn preparations. With all my damned _officers_, I should be concentrating on training. But no, there was always a fucking mistake or another god damn request… "I _need_ a fucking breather."

He turned swiftly and hoped onto the rails. The muscles in his thighs coiled for a jump. Wanting to give them a small warm up for use in a little while; his mind was already set on what he'd be doing the rest of the night. But before he could leap across to another ship a voice stopped him. "So, where are you off to on this fine evening, _Admiral_?"

'grr…' There were only a handful of people that addressed without formalities. But there were even fewer that could mock him. Though, they were the ones he _tolerated_ the most, even if he wouldn't admit it.

The rubber pirate half growled out, "Well Zoro… I was about to start my sentry runs. What do you want?"

The green haired swordsman and 1st Commander of the Strawhat fleet blured into sight behind Luffy. "You never patrol… you don't even have sentry duty. That's what the _Guards_ are for. So where are you _really_ going in such a hurry?"

They both knew that Zorro knew full well where he was going, with the direction he was facing… Still, without that, the other tall tell signs practically radiated off of him. The thoughts of a woman or women, whoever was not in use, quivering underneath him had let lose a couple days worth of hormones. Haki drenched pheromones were coming off of him in waves. His eyes had glossed over into an almost hungry look. Even the area around his jeans had begun to tighten…

'What a fucking sight…' thought Zoro. "Why not go someone you don't have to pay. Someone willing."

"They are all willing." Luffy said, now going into full blown growl; very irritated with is commander butting into his business.

The swordsman sighed, very aggravated. "You know damn well what I'm talking about." Now he was feeling sorry for whomever the man chose to relieve his frustrations with. "Look, why not talk with them, you know-"

"Zoro…" Luffy cut in, his words now sharper than any blade his nakama ever owned. "No… I have **NO** idea who… or what you are talking about. Do you **understand?**"

He received a slow nod.

"Good. Now if you would excuse me." Zoro could only watch as his long time friend bent down, then rocket himself toward the path of self destruction.

**xXx**

A/n: Well if you hadn't notice it before. You should have now. My Luffy is very OOC. But there are reasons. A few were already pointed out. Anyway, expect the battle scene in the next chapter with more insight on what his fleet.


End file.
